> In part because of the relative ease of using the > WotC OGL, and the > relatively minor costs associated with it. There > were a fair number > of people doing it when it was the only way to have > compatibility > with D&D.
True. And TSR was pretty aggressive against most of them. I dont really know why Palladium weathered the storm. > Well, point of order, i have no interest in > infringing on > copyrights--that is, i'm not gonna start copying > verbatim text. I know. I was baiting you and setting up my own straw man so taht I could respond in the next paragraph. > Actually, i'm just enough of an idealist, and just > gutsy/stupid > enough, that i may yet do it. No you wont. > I'd've been a *lot* > more comfortable > doing it before the WotC OGL and D20SRD, however, > because i suspect > that if it were to go to court today, the number of > people using the > license would be trotted out as evidence that "all > these people" > implicitly accept/agree to WotC's claims of > ownership. I am going to agree with you and make a statement you probably didnt expect: I think that one of the unstated reasons for the OGL is to prevent the test case from ever occuring. I think WotC's lawyers were scared enough that the case could be made that rules are not copyrightable that they agreed to the OGL concept to create a safe harbor so that it would never really be challenged. I have no proof of that. Ryan has NEVER indicated that was true. I am not a conspiracy theorist, but I am a lawyer and that is exactly what I would do if I had intellectual property that i was worried was under siege--create a way for people to do what they can possibly lawfully do anyway and take away any right they have to claim otherwise. Because that is basically what the license is, when you really look at it. What does WotC really get? You dont rip off D&D and they dont have to sue you and you claim to right to it. Genius, actually. (Man, where is DM when I need him for a good conspiracy). Clark ===== http://www.necromancergames.com "3rd Edition Rules, 1st Edition Feel" _______________________________________________ Ogf-l mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.opengamingfoundation.org/mailman/listinfo/ogf-l
